The great escape
Tuesday morning we were lying in bed, snuggling and talking and drinking coffee. I’m at a lull between projects and the kids are with us for the week. They tend to sleep late if we let them, so we start moving more slowly in the morning when they are here. We were planning to take them to a water park for the day. Then I had an idea.
“Daddy, you know that resort that has the new water park? In Palm Springs? It won’t cost THAT much more to go there for the night, instead of paying for four admissions to our water park. Why don’t we go there instead?”
Richard liked the idea, so I reached for my iPhone and called the hotel. I made a reservation, then called our vet to arrange for the dogs to be kenneled, after failing to get hold of our usual house sitter. Which was fine, because the dogs needed vaccine updates and grooming anyway - this way I just drop them off and pick them up a day later, vaccinated and fluffy clean.
Then I woke the kids and told them we were leaving in half an hour for the desert (I didn’t tell them about the on-site water park - that was a surprise). They leapt out of bed and scurried to get ready, while I made a couple of work phone calls that had to happen before I could leave. Richard packed for us and got the car ready. We dropped off the dogs and were on the road by 11.
On the drive out, I pointed out that we could stay for a second day for the price of grooming the dogs. The kids usually bathe the dogs, and I trim and brush them. Richard grinned at me from the wheel and said “Go ahead, change the reservations.” So I called the vet and cancelled the grooming and added a night of kenneling, then called the hotel and added a night to our reservation. The kids approved.
We stopped for lunch (barbecue - yum), then checked in early. The room was gorgeous - big French doors looking over a golf course, a king-size bed and fold-out couch with duvets and mega-count linens, a wide-screen TV and an all-marble bathroom. We quickly changed into our swimsuits and headed for the pool. The kids were so cute when they saw the water slides and lazy river!
All we did Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday (until we headed home in the early afternoon) was swim and slide and float. And eat great food. Oh, and we watched TV one night, all snuggled up on the king-sized bed together. Richard now wants a wide-screen TV (we don’t watch TV at home, only Netflix) and a king-sized bed (ours is a queen).
The lazy river - I could live on that. I floated around and around, Richard and the kids goofing around and pretending to be pirates (first he said they were dirty pirates, but I fussed about that, so he said they were clean, freshly scented pirates lol). Then things would settle and we would hang on to each others’ tubes and chat, until the kids would get bored and wander off to the slides. Then - my personal favorite - I would slide down until only my nose and lips were above water, the tube protecting my head from the sides of the pool, Richard holding on to my feet. I could only hear the water flow, and only see the tops of the palm trees and the blue, blue sky. I felt so safe with Richard holding me and watching out for me. Like meditation and a massage and a sensory deprivation tank all rolled into one.
Now we’re home and I feel so calm and centered. And tan. Wow. Richard is sleeping next to me (I don’t think he slept well last night; I woke up as he flipped me onto my belly to fuck me, I think that was around 2 am and he hadn’t slept yet). Now I’m going to get up and make him a coffee and get the newspaper before I wake him. It’s great to get away, but life at home isn’t bad either.
xoAmy
Sounds like heaven!
~Doux~
Comment by ~Doux~ — July 11, 2008 @ 10:33 am
wow..what a great couple of days it sounds like. I know what you mean about the floating - the calmness and the sensory deprivation..lol
Comment by Slavegirl — July 11, 2008 @ 11:31 am
Sounds like fun! My sister and I went to a water part yesterday and it was the biggest stress relief ever! I’m super burned now though - nooooot fun.
Comment by Rori — July 11, 2008 @ 12:23 pm
its good to see you are back home and revitalized.
Comment by robert — July 11, 2008 @ 12:24 pm
Yay!!! Happy for you guys, that sounds absolutely amazingly wonderful!
Xoxoxo
Comment by megan — July 13, 2008 @ 9:24 am